December 24
Don’t worry, Molly, he’ll be here.
Molly smiled down at Schrodinger, who was standing next to her as she looked out the window. He had one paw on her leg, and his whole body radiated concern. “I know,” she said, letting the curtain drop. “I was actually looking out for Zette – I wanted to make sure I caught her when she delivers the mail, so I can give her the cookies we baked for her.”
Oh. Good. I didn’t want you to worry. Schrodinger dropped back down and began to wash his paw.
“I’m not.” And she almost believed it. There was a little knot, in the center of her stomach, but she was determined to ignore it. The farmhouse her parents owned was bright and welcoming, warm with the scents of vanilla, cinnamon and pine, all mixed together with the smoke from the fire in the living room fireplace. There would be a buffet spread later, full of all sorts of goodies that she and her sister-in-law and mother had made over the last twenty-four hours, and bottles of her brother’s crisp hard cider. Lily and Jack and Schrodinger were already planning how early they were going to get up the next morning, and Molly looked forward to hearing her father say, as he’d said to her and Nathan every year when they were younger, “Go back to bed, it’s not 6 am yet!”
She looked outside again as she heard something scrape outside, and this time, she saw the mail carrier heading up the front walk. Molly took the brightly-wrapped package from the table next to her, shrugged into her coat, and opened the front door.
“Merry Christmas, Zette!” she said, when the mail carrier mounted the front steps. Her parents had a huge wraparound porch, and this year, it was decorated with snowmen and Christmas greenery.
“Merry Christmas, Molly!” Zette said, smiling up at her. “Have the kids driven you guys nuts yet?”
“They’re working on it,” Molly admitted, offering the package to her. “I don’t think we’ve put Lily and Schrodinger in this many timeouts in a long time.”
Zette’s smiled broadened into a grin as she accepted the package. “I think I know what Santa gets in our house tonight, and thank you! Here, this is for you guys.”
“Did the letter come?” Molly asked, flipping through the envelopes eagerly.
“Of course,” Zette said. “Did you think we would forget?”
Molly squealed as she found the envelope she was looking for. “Thanks, Zette, you’re the best! Have a good Christmas!” She gave the mail carrier a quick hug, and then ran inside. “Lily! Jack! Schrodinger! You have mail!”
The three came tumbling around a corner, all ribbons and ponytails and velvet. “What? Who sent us something?” Lily demanded.
“I don’t know! But it has your names on it!” Molly shed her coat. “Come on into the living room and we’ll read it.”
They ended up snuggled on the sectional, Lily in her lap and Jack and Schrodinger on either side. The large living room was dominated on one side by the large fieldstone fireplace, flanked by built-in bookcases. The other end held the large Christmas tree, surrounded by a literal wall of presents. The sectional hugged one edge of the wall and then curved around towards the fireplace. The tree, decorated with the ornaments Molly’s parents had collected over the years, glowed with multicolored lights. The angel that smiled down from the top of the tree had been made by Molly’s mother when Molly was only Lily’s age.
“Who sent them, Aunt Molly? Who sent us stuff?” Lily asked, looking at the envelopes in her hands.
“Open it and find out,” Molly said. Lily took the envelope and opened it carefully, the tip of her tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth. She pulled out the letter and handed it to Molly.
“Dear Lily, Jack and Schrodinger,” Molly read. “Thank you so much for your letters! Mrs. Claus and I read them carefully, and then we looked to see how good you’ve been. You’ve been doing very well, but don’t forget to be good tonight too! I have to finish packing my sleigh soon, but I wanted to make sure that I responded to you. Be good, and don’t forget to leave me some of your Aunt Molly’s cookies – they’re so good! Oh, Rudolph asks that you leave him and the other reindeer some carrots too. Can you do that? Thank you, and Merry Christmas! Love, Santa”
Lily laughed and clapped her hands. “Santa did get our letters! He wrote us back! That’s so cool!” She hopped off Molly’s lap. “Come on, guys, we have to go find carrots!”
All three of them tore off towards the kitchen, while Molly laughed. They nearly ran over Nathan as he was coming into the room; he had to twist out of the way to avoid being crashed into. “I take it the letter was a success?” he said, coming in and handing her a glass.
“Completely,” Molly said, taking a sip. Cider bubbled on her tongue. “Oh, this is lovely.”
Nathan was about to answer when they both heard boots, heavy boots, on the porch. Molly’s heart leapt. Was it him? She held her breath as her brother went to answer the door, and when she heard Luke’s voice, she couldn’t help the brief spurt of disappointment that rushed through her. Not Drew.
“Come on in and have a cup,” Nathan was saying, and Molly got up to greet the Gate tech. “I’ve got a fresh batch of cider.”
“I can’t refuse that,” Luke said, giving his shy smile. “Hi, Molly.”
“Hi, Luke,” she said, and then couldn’t help herself. “Drew back yet?”
“Not yet,” he said, and then smiled at her again. “We’re not expecting him until late – he said there was a lot of snow on the Roads. Not surprising, really.”
“No, not really,” Molly agreed, kicking herself. Of course there was snow on the Roads. It was Christmas Eve, after all.
Luke handed her a red envelope. “I was asked to bring this to you, and since that meant I got to see you, well, it wasn’t a hard request.”
“Asked, huh?” Molly arched an eyebrow but accepted the envelope. “By Drew?”
“No, actually,” Luke said. “Tom was supposed to bring this one, but he asked me to do it instead.”
Molly’s other eyebrow rose. “Why? Afraid I might say something to him?”
“No, I think he’s just not ready to admit that he’s lost you.” Luke touched her cheek gently. “I can’t blame him. I’m just a better loser than he is.”
And then he and Nathan went off, leaving her there, holding her envelope and staring after them, her eyes wide.